When we play games, we devote a special quality of mental attention that activities like reading or watching TV often don’t demand.

Games demand full engagement – and when our brains are fully engaged, amazing things start to happen.

Bad habits form around rewards; nobody craves a pack of cigarettes or a tub of ice cream because they hate the way nicotine or sugar makes them feel. But while your local pharmacy offers a whole suite of products designed to curb physical cravings, staving off mental cravings is often on you. One proven solution: play a game.

Why does this work? According to MRI scans of the participating couples’ brains, cooperative play and puzzle solving activated the exact same reward centers as nicotine does. Many games – especially the casual variety you are likely to find in your app store of choice – are designed to offer persistent rewards for completing challenges (think of the satisfying visual and sound effects when you obliterate a row of tiles in Candy Crush). So, the next time you feel a craving: reward yourself with a game first.